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If your problems with distraction are severe enough to affect your mental health it's worth considering the possibility you have undiagnosed ADHD. Just because

If your problems with distraction are severe enough to affect your mental health it's worth considering the possibility you have undiagnosed ADHD. Just because you sometimes code for 12 hours straight doesn't mean you don't (common misconception). 5 minute ASRS screening test here (pdf, not some data harvesting online monstrosity): https://add.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/adhd-questionnaire-ASRS111.pdf https://add.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/adhd-questionnair...

nicbou 6y ago
Just getting diagnosed was worth it. I tried medication and it didn't work for me, but at least now I can explain patterns in my behaviour. Just knowing what you're dealing with is quite useful. It highlights the strengths and weaknesses you must contend with. I learned to harness my random bursts of energy, but also to control their scope. Some things that helped: progressively removing "noise" from my life, having a maximum number of "in progress" projects, committing to smaller deliverables.
- Taylor_OD 6y ago
  Same. Just knowing and being able to do some things to mitigate it helps a lot.
hackerman123469 6y ago
I agree with you and people with ADHD has an ability called hyper-focus which let's us (I am diagnosed with ADHD) focus on stuff without ever letting go. ADHD has a kind of wrong name in that it has "Attention Deficit" when really paying attention is not the problem, regulating attention is the problem. We often struggle with either paying too little attention or too much attention.
- darkarmani 6y ago
  It's really executive function disorder and maybe something related hyperbolic discounting in the reward/habit/focus system.
  - hackerman123469 6y ago
    There are more to ADHD than just trouble with executive functions. There are things like emotional dysregulation, rejection sensitivity, sensory processing that are also common traits among people with ADHD. Trouble with executive functions is just one aspect of the issues we, as people with ADHD face.
- anonzzz 6y ago
  >regulating attention is the problem. Thanks for your comment. I see this in my son, who shows signs of having ADHD. He is able to hyper focus on areas of interest which seems contrary to having ADHD. Less desired areas of interest are much harder for him to deeply focus. I try to see this as an advantage and hope that someday he will be able to exploit his hyper focus and learn to manage his distracatablity.
fasteo 6y ago
>>> Just because you sometimes code for 12 hours straight Precisely because you can code 12 hours non-stop, you chances to have undiagnosed ADHD are actually higher. "Attention Deficit isn't an inability to focus, it's an inability to exert executive control over focus". This is the best ADHD description I have read. Of course, here in HN[1] [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22135054 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22135054
- Tarq0n 6y ago
  Note that executive functioning disorders can also point to autism spectrum disorders. Under the DSM4 it was actually discouraged to diagnose co-morbid ADHD with ASD.
intotheabyss 6y ago
My answers would be often or very often for pretty much all of these questions, other than the fidgeting ones.
- sideshowb 6y ago
  Well it's only a screening test, but (not knowing you) if you are someone for whom this causes problems in your life it may be worth trying a full diagnosis.
throw1234651234 6y ago
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/suffer-the-children/201203/do-french-kids-have-adhd https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/suffer-the-children/... Consider that it's difficult to separate ADHD from a lifetime of bad habits and a "lack of willpower". Willpower being brought up in the standard medical context of "the prefontal cortex being able to override other areas of the brain to serve long-term goals and resist impulse."
- darkarmani 6y ago
  > and a "lack of willpower" Isn't the "lack of willpower" directly related to the underlying medical condition?
  - throw1234651234 6y ago
    Not necessarily. Can you not run because you have mild asthma / a weak heart, or because you never ran? It's hard to tell the difference between the two. Same here. Over-diagnosing is a real problem, it's the opposite end of "victim blaming", but it's also a dangerous extreme. There are people who can't focus on anything who don't have ADHD. Willpower is directly trainable through a number of things - working memory exercises, physical exercise, practicing it, meditation, etc.
    - darkarmani 6y ago
      > Willpower is directly trainable through a number of things - working memory exercises, physical exercise, practicing it, meditation, etc. That still doesn't mean it isn't ADHD. In fact the best results come from a treatment of cognitive behavioral sessions and medication. Certainly, some cultures have features where the symptoms are less obvious than other cultures.
- throw99999998 6y ago
  But why are some people more susceptible to developing those bad habits than others? The spin on that article doesn't quite sit right with me (and note the editor has issued a correction, as well) but there are certainly some things there I'd agree with. Logically, ADHD must be a disorder neither of the individual nor of their environment, but of the interaction between the two that arises when the expectations of society don't match the behaviour of the individual. So whether you should try to 'fix' the individual or society is an ethical question not a scientific one. Practical considerations may lead to 'fixing' the individual with medication, but in some cases a change to their environment may be achievable to the same effect. e.g. an adult with mild to moderate ADHD symptoms may be lucky enough to get a job they're so interested in that they don't have any problems with focus. I'm also guessing it's not helpful to frame these debates in a binary fashion. All psychological problems exist on a spectrum so there will always be a group in the middle for which e.g. diet or learned coping strategies work well enough. Then there will be a more extreme group for whom those tools fail. And a group in between those two who might struggle along for years looking like they're doing fine, but in the long term burn out in the absence of a comprehensive treatment.

nicbou 6y ago

Just getting diagnosed was worth it. I tried medication and it didn't work for me, but at least now I can explain patterns in my behaviour. Just knowing what you're dealing with is quite useful. It highlights the strengths and weaknesses you must contend with. I learned to harness my random bursts of energy, but also to control their scope. Some things that helped: progressively removing "noise" from my life, having a maximum number of "in progress" projects, committing to smaller deliverables.

Taylor_OD 6y ago
Same. Just knowing and being able to do some things to mitigate it helps a lot.

hackerman123469 6y ago

I agree with you and people with ADHD has an ability called hyper-focus which let's us (I am diagnosed with ADHD) focus on stuff without ever letting go. ADHD has a kind of wrong name in that it has "Attention Deficit" when really paying attention is not the problem, regulating attention is the problem. We often struggle with either paying too little attention or too much attention.

darkarmani 6y ago
It's really executive function disorder and maybe something related hyperbolic discounting in the reward/habit/focus system.
- hackerman123469 6y ago
  There are more to ADHD than just trouble with executive functions. There are things like emotional dysregulation, rejection sensitivity, sensory processing that are also common traits among people with ADHD. Trouble with executive functions is just one aspect of the issues we, as people with ADHD face.
anonzzz 6y ago
>regulating attention is the problem. Thanks for your comment. I see this in my son, who shows signs of having ADHD. He is able to hyper focus on areas of interest which seems contrary to having ADHD. Less desired areas of interest are much harder for him to deeply focus. I try to see this as an advantage and hope that someday he will be able to exploit his hyper focus and learn to manage his distracatablity.

fasteo 6y ago

>>> Just because you sometimes code for 12 hours straight Precisely because you can code 12 hours non-stop, you chances to have undiagnosed ADHD are actually higher. "Attention Deficit isn't an inability to focus, it's an inability to exert executive control over focus". This is the best ADHD description I have read. Of course, here in HN[1] [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22135054 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22135054

Tarq0n 6y ago
Note that executive functioning disorders can also point to autism spectrum disorders. Under the DSM4 it was actually discouraged to diagnose co-morbid ADHD with ASD.

intotheabyss 6y ago

My answers would be often or very often for pretty much all of these questions, other than the fidgeting ones.

sideshowb 6y ago
Well it's only a screening test, but (not knowing you) if you are someone for whom this causes problems in your life it may be worth trying a full diagnosis.

throw1234651234 6y ago

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/suffer-the-children/201203/do-french-kids-have-adhd https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/suffer-the-children/... Consider that it's difficult to separate ADHD from a lifetime of bad habits and a "lack of willpower". Willpower being brought up in the standard medical context of "the prefontal cortex being able to override other areas of the brain to serve long-term goals and resist impulse."

darkarmani 6y ago
> and a "lack of willpower" Isn't the "lack of willpower" directly related to the underlying medical condition?
- throw1234651234 6y ago
  Not necessarily. Can you not run because you have mild asthma / a weak heart, or because you never ran? It's hard to tell the difference between the two. Same here. Over-diagnosing is a real problem, it's the opposite end of "victim blaming", but it's also a dangerous extreme. There are people who can't focus on anything who don't have ADHD. Willpower is directly trainable through a number of things - working memory exercises, physical exercise, practicing it, meditation, etc.
  - darkarmani 6y ago
    > Willpower is directly trainable through a number of things - working memory exercises, physical exercise, practicing it, meditation, etc. That still doesn't mean it isn't ADHD. In fact the best results come from a treatment of cognitive behavioral sessions and medication. Certainly, some cultures have features where the symptoms are less obvious than other cultures.
throw99999998 6y ago
But why are some people more susceptible to developing those bad habits than others? The spin on that article doesn't quite sit right with me (and note the editor has issued a correction, as well) but there are certainly some things there I'd agree with. Logically, ADHD must be a disorder neither of the individual nor of their environment, but of the interaction between the two that arises when the expectations of society don't match the behaviour of the individual. So whether you should try to 'fix' the individual or society is an ethical question not a scientific one. Practical considerations may lead to 'fixing' the individual with medication, but in some cases a change to their environment may be achievable to the same effect. e.g. an adult with mild to moderate ADHD symptoms may be lucky enough to get a job they're so interested in that they don't have any problems with focus. I'm also guessing it's not helpful to frame these debates in a binary fashion. All psychological problems exist on a spectrum so there will always be a group in the middle for which e.g. diet or learned coping strategies work well enough. Then there will be a more extreme group for whom those tools fail. And a group in between those two who might struggle along for years looking like they're doing fine, but in the long term burn out in the absence of a comprehensive treatment.